NEW DELHI: 4th Smart Cities India 2018 expo accomplished another successful year of the expo. The three-day event witnessed collaboration, discussions, and a vast showcase of innovative products and services. The 300+ exhibitors from both India and abroad concluded that expo provided them a unique and a dedicated platform to develop meaningful business relations with key players in the Smart Cities Mission arena. Government officials, private companies, renowned speakers, professors, city mayors, and international delegates shared their sense of urban reality and changes required to make a better city.
Smart Village Conclave: One of the biggest challenges that were addressed, was how to reduce the rate of urban migration. In order for cities to be less burdened, villages need to become a better provider of earning opportunities, health and education facilities, and efficient and well-connected transport system. Ram Kripal Yadav – Hon’ble Minister of State for Rural Development, Government of India said, “While cities have shown immense leaps of growth, the villages have not been the same story. 70 per cent of India’s population resides in villages and since villages have not witnessed a significant increase in earning opportunities and quality of life, we witnessed unsurpassed migration to urban areas. This is leading to cities being overcrowded and burdened. To combat this issue, we need to focus on making villages smarter along with our cities. To this end, the central government has increased the spends from Rs 54,000 crore to Rs 1,12,000 crores. In the ‘Housing for All’ scheme, 44.54 lacs houses have been built to date and by end of 2019, one crore houses are expected to be built. The core of all projects lies in uplifting the earning capacity and overall facilities in the villages. MGNREGA project has been allocated 55,000 crore this year alone to continue providing employment in the rural area. Lastly, I would like to say that India needs to make its villages smarter so that a holistic growth of the nation can happen and all segments of society live an enriched quality of life.”
Smart Cities India Awards 2018
The third smart cities awards conducted by Exhibitions India Group received 130 nominations across 17 categories. A jury of 7 eminent members, who selected the winners, has vast experience and knowledge on the subject of smart cities across various categories such as water, education, infrastructure, etc. On the occasion, Mr. Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Group said “We will continually witness an annual growth of 7.5% in GDP for the next 20-30 years and we should aim that all sections of society are uplifted. It has been a matter of pride to say that many smart cities projects have reached successful completion and many are in line. These projects are like both lighthouses guiding the cities forward and beacons that provide information for other cities to follow.”
The awards were presented to 19 winners under 17 categories. Pune Municipal Corporation received 3 prominent awards, i.e. Energy, Smart SPV and Water Project Award. The Public-Private Partnership Award was received by BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. & BSES Yamuna Power Ltd. The Safe city Award was given to Rajkot Smart City. Naya Raipur was awarded the honor of Smart City. The Urban Mobility Award was given to Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd. and the Municipal Solid Waste Management award was given to Tech Mahindra depicting as a prime example that Smart cities functions will thrive on public-private partnership.